Tony kept his distance from Pepper, using the time to strengthen the bond with his wife and soon-to-be child. And then once the child was born Tony looked very different. He always looked tired, he seemed to get more gray overnight, and he was found asleep on his desk a few times. Lucy had gone out for the evening with her friends, leaving Tony alone with a 3 month old who didn't want to shut up. He tried everything he could think of or that he had seen Lucy do, and nothing worked. He had Jarvis connect him to Pepper and once she picked up she'd be greeted by the wailing of a baby and Tony saying, "Pepper, I'll pay you triple time this entire month if you come here right now." with desperation coloring his words.
She was enjoying a book, one of her favorites when the call came. She quirked a brow, but at the tenor of his voice she dared not say no. She made it there in record time mostly out of concern and when she walked into the mansion she had to stop and really look around. There was baby stuff everywhere and no sign of the Mother, "Jarvis were is Mrs. Stark?" The AI informed her that she had taken a night out, and he further informed her as to where Mr. Stark was and the current problem, "Thank you Jarvis." Leaving her keys and purse on the coffee table, Pepper made her way down the hall and into what was the baby's room, "What haven't you tried?" She asked, holding her hands out for the very unhappy baby.
"I tried ieverything./i" he moaned, happily thrusting the child into her arms and rubbing his hands on his pants, cringing.
She took the child and bounced a little as she held the screaming infant. She inspected the diaper which was fine and tried the discarded bottle but figured the child was not hungry when said bottle was batted away. She thought a moment while making small ssh sounds and gently stroking the baby's back, "Did you try a bath?" She felt odd holding this child, but she didn't let on to such.
"Yes." he mumbled, folding his arms over his chest. The baby easily began to settle simply being held by Pepper and Tony looked even more annoyed.
Pepper blinked and continued make soft noises and then hummed a gentle tune noting the child giving a few small yawns. She moved about the room slowly, keeping this up and ignoring the annoyed looks she was getting from Tony until she was sure the child's eyes had finally closed for good. Slowly she approached the crib and carefully, gently laid the baby down inside and held her breath, sighing quietly when no sound of protest was given.
Tony moved like a cartoon cat burglar to get out of the room, eyes wide and locked on the baby. And once both of them were safely out of the room Tony pushed his face deeply into Peppers upper chest, his arms limp at his sides.
She blinked and then guardedly stroked his hair, "How much sleep have you gotten in the past three months?" She had a rough idea of how much and she was willing to bet Jarvis could rattle it off no problem, "You need to talk to Lucy about hiring a nanny."
"She would never go for it. She's all about hands on. Baby cries we iboth/i get up. I'd be all for taking turns, but no..." he sighed and pushed closer to Peppers body, just wanting some peace and quiet.
Pepper frowned, that woman was insane. She hated seeing him like this, practically a shell of himself, "I'm here Tony, what do you need?" She hoped he knew she was there for him no matter what.
"Quiet and peace and sleep and just quiet..." he mumbled, sighing to himself.
She nodded, understanding perfectly, "Well standing here is not the best idea, we don't want to accidentally wake the little one up." Her voice was calm, soft as she let him seek refuge in a matter of speaking.
"God, shoot me if he wakes up again." He mumbled, moving quickly away from the door, an arm tight around Peppers waist.
She smiled a little, "If that happens I got it covered." She let him lead her to where ever he wanted to go, "Have you had anything to eat?" She looked him over, trying to hide the sadness she felt in seeing him so worn like this.
"Lucy made me a sandwich for lunch, but I haven't had dinner yet." He mumbled, settling the two of them on the couch, laying his head back. Jarvis dimmed the lights for him, but kept enough that Pepper could see where she was going
"Will you be okay if I go and make you something?" She looked at him, "I'll make it quick." Her tone was assuring as she made a mental note to get him to see his hair stylist within the week while brushing some still dark strands from his forehead.
He nodded, his eyes still closed, breathing deeply. Jarvis informed them he had sound proofed the room for the baby, but they would be able to hear any sounds he made.
She moved into the kitchen and found what she needed and made him a homemade hamburger. Granted it wasn't Burger King, but she hoped it might make him feel a little bit better as she sat it on the coffee table before him along with a glass of water and some asprin, "Here you go." She settled back on the sofa next to him.
He had obviously fallen asleep at some point, but he woke up as she walked back into the room, taking the offerings gratefully.
She watched him eat, a small smile on her face as she settled back and looked around at the changes she had yet to really notice and the things that hadn't changed. She remained silent in her observations and wondering idly what Lucy would think when she came home, if she could get Tony settled then maybe the woman would never have to know that she had been there.
He let her turn on a movie, and relaxed against her a little. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, his head shifting from the back of the couch to her shoulder. Up close the lines in his face were more obvious, pain and stress lines, and the gray that covered his beard was more obvious, and just how covered his temples were with gray.
She relaxed and watched the movie finding comfort in being his comfort. She looked him over as he slept, her heart sinking at his current state of being… he wasn't the same Tony anymore. He had let himself go to a point and she didn't like it, she didn't think it was fair. She artfully reached for the throw to her other side and draped it over him while he slept. For the moment she wasn't going anywhere and that was fine.
The baby didn't cry again and Tony remained asleep until Lucy got home. Under the blanket his hand just barely brushed against Peppers hip.
The movie ended not long after Pepper had drifted off as well, her head resting back and turned towards Tony. She shifted a little at his touch and then stirred and woke blinking, "What time—" She paused mid-sentence seeing Lucy and glanced to Tony feeling very awkward all of the sudden. Lucy looked the situation over, it seemed innocent enough, but why was Pepper there to begin with? She looked to Tony for that answer and waited.
Tony yawned and glanced over at Lucy. "Thank god you're back. Edward has been driving me nutty." he mumbled to her, stretching his tired back.
Pepper stood quickly and looked to Lucy, "He called me for back up. You have a lovely child." She noted Lucy looked her up and down curiously, "Thanks for helping him." She nodded just short of coldly to Pepper before turning her attention to Tony, "You need to learn patience. And why didn't you call me? I would've come home." The Mrs. Stark was clearly not happy and Pepper wanted desperately to leave and made calmly for the door.
Tony noticed Pepper leaving but didn't make it known, just frowned to his wife and mumbled that he was sorry and that he didn't want to pull her away from her night out.
Lucy let it slide, but she didn't like that he called Pepper and not her. She was glad Pepper was a smart woman and left. She shook her head and went to check on her baby boy leaving her husband there on the sofa after giving him a look that we'll discuss this later.
Pepper meanwhile sat for a moment out in her car, her blue eyes focused on the clock that read one in the morning. Sighing she shifted into drive and headed home, a part of her wishing she was still on that sofa with him.
Harold had stopped waiting for her after an hour. He hadn't believed her story about Tony's son crying. He had stopped believing her stories months ago, when the lies he told himself no longer convinced him. He laid down in his bed for another sleepless night wondering why she was doing what she was and steeling himself to not become distant so she wouldn't know he knew exactly what she had been doing with their boss when she was disheveled or scatterbrained. He just smiled and told her he loved her and tried to be the same old Harold she had married not so long ago, despite how badly it broke his heart.
She knew he knew, but she wished he knew that nothing had happened for months between them, that it was all said and done or for now at least. She wasn't going to say anything or confirm his knowing because she knew it would hurt worse… or at least that's what she thought. She laid there in the bed with the man she loved but wasn't in love with and thought, not sleeping about what she was going to do. She never once thought she'd ever be in a situation like this, but here she was and now she had no idea what to do or not to do. Turning over she forced herself to close her eyes and to worry about things tomorrow.